- From financial support to coordinating in-home care, adult children prepared to lend a hand -

MISSISSAUGA - A snapshot of older Canadians and boomer children reveals that family roles and expectations are changing, according to an independent living survey from Bayshore Home Health.

In its second annual Living for Today - Ready for Tomorrow survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid, Bayshore Home Health talked to older Canadians aged 65-85 as well as people aged 40-64 who have at least one parent living. The study revealed that long-standing family dynamics are shifting in many ways.

"The study results reflect the day-to-day concerns faced by Canadian families in challenging economic times," says Holly Quinn, spokesperson for Bayshore Home Health, the sponsor of the survey. "For example, in the past many people expected to inherit from their parents. Today, the reverse is true - many children of older Canadians are anticipating they'll need to help their parents out financially."

One-quarter of adult children think their parents will ask them for financial help in order to get through the recession, even though very few (5%) parents say they will ask. In fact, many adult children (67%) are more willing to give financial help than their parents think they would be. Close to one-third (30%) of adult children are expecting the current economic crisis to have an impact on their parents' ability to pay for medications and other expenses.

Furthermore, nearly one in seven adult children are not confident their parents would have enough money for retirement, and only half were very confident about their parents' prospects in this area.

"In addition to helping their parents financially, adult children are expecting to assist or are already assisting their parents in other ways," said Quinn. "Grocery shopping, providing companionship and traveling to appointments are the top tasks where adult children claim to be pitching in." And while 73% of the aging parents felt they didn't need any help around the home, only 43% of their adult children agreed.

Over three-quarters of adult children say they would be willing to care for their parents (versus 51% of older Canadians who agreed) to help them avoid moving into a nursing home or extended care facility.

"It's not surprising that the current economy is impacting family relationships," adds Quinn. "Financial concerns are leading in turn to concerns about health care and independent living in general. Eighty-eight percent of aging parents responded that they don't want to be a burden to their families, but 65% of the adult children would accommodate them moving in and 32% think their parent is embarrassed to ask for help."